Spotter planes ready for wildfire surveillance

22/11/01
The State's seven spotter planes will spend more than 3,500 hours in the air over the next few months keeping a lookout for wildfires in the South-West forests.
Inspecting some of the aircraft at Collie airport today, Environment and Heritage Minister Dr Judy Edwards said the fleet was backed up by a network of fire lookout towers stretching from the Gnangara pines north of Perth to Mt Frankland in the proposed Walpole Wilderness Area.
"Since the Department of Conservation and Land Management and its predecessors introduced aircraft to spot fires almost 30 years ago, the planes have flown more than 250,000 hours - the equivalent of 800 times around the Equator," she said.
"The planes are based at Dwellingup and Manjimup, and fly across areas set each day according to the forecast fire weather conditions."
Dr Edwards said aerial surveillance began as a trial with one Cessna 150 in the early 1970s. Piper Super Cubs were then used from the mid-1970s. In 1994 a trial using Eagle aircraft was undertaken but this was not successful.
In 1997, the department began a major replacement program and introduced the United States-made Champion Scouts. These were faster and had a longer endurance time than the Cubs, making the fire-spotting operation more effective and cost-efficient.
The department now has six Scouts - including a new one introduced this season - and one Cub.
Dr Edwards said the combination of spotter aircraft and lookout towers was a significant factor in limiting the spread of forest wildfires.
"The department has between 400 and 500 wildfires in the South-West forests each year but contains 95 per cent of these to less than 10ha.
"The fact that the pilots can relay information on the fire's behaviour and development means fire controllers can more readily assess suppression objectives and strategies. It also assists in ensuring the safety of fire crews.
"Without this rapid detection and response system, many more wildfires would escalate into extensive blazes that would have severe impacts on biodiversity values, as well as threaten private property and forest communities."
Dr Edwards said the fire lookout tower network was an essential part of the detection system.
"In the past few years, the department has upgraded several older towers and installed new ones at places such as Bickley in the Perth hills and in the Blackwood River Valley between Balingup and Nannup," she said.
"The Diamond Tree south of Manjimup - which is a popular tourist attraction in the area - also has been upgraded so that it can be used as a lookout if planes are grounded because of severe weather.
"The lookouts also provide constant surveillance when aircraft are diverted to assist in controlling wildfires or are over other parts of the forest."
Media contact: John Carey 9220 5050